Knights baseball a summer job

KHS summer roster getting cuts in league
MAPLE PARKâ€”Infielder Jake Fiedler makes his way to base on a walk, then takes a quick opportunity to steal second out from under the nose of Aurora Christian on Tuesday.

The returning Knight baseball assetâ€™s jersey and pants are already covered with dirt, and he pauses to dust himself off as best he can.

Yep, this is Kaneland baseball.

The Brian Aversa-led crew is getting some needed batting and pitching time as the Knights are cleat-deep into the summer league.

Tuesday featured Kaneland taking on visiting Aurora Christian under overcast-turned-to-drizzly skies and came away with a 12-0 win.

Hurler Kyle Davidson was the winning pitcher, and Jake Tickle showed power with a home run.

Aversa, even with the convincing win, feels a game like Tuesday only tells a small part of the story for these summer warriors, who are currently 14-9.

â€œWeâ€™ve seen great play overall from guys like Tickel and (catcher) Tyler Callaghan and guys like Aaron Hayman,â€ Aversa said.

While the wins are nice, Aversa stresses that they arenâ€™t looking at the win column as the be-all, end-all in this break before student open the books again.

â€œWe want to get guys some playing time and see what theyâ€™re able to do out there,â€ Aversa said.

With 10 games left in the season, the Knights are still full of pleasant developments.

â€œOverall, our defense has improved at a surprising pace. We look a lot better on defense,â€ Aversa said.

Monday, July 20, sees the start of the IHSA summer league playoffs against teams in the area.

Meanwhile, the regular season continues with a matchup against West Aurora on Thursday, July 9, at 5 p.m.

The Knights then travel to a tournament at Northern Illinois University set for Saturday, July 11.

Monday, July 13, is a clash with host St. Charles North, while the regular season ends on Thursday, July 16, vs. Batavia.

PHOTO: Knight Kyle Davidson was all over the diamond during Tuesdayâ€™s 12-0 handling of visiting Aurora Christian. Davidson, shown here batting, was the winning pitcher in the game for Kaneland. Photo by Mike Slodki